A group of leading Japanese firms, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Group Corp., has set up a new company to ramp up the domestic production of next-generation semiconductors, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The joint effort by around 10 companies, also including SoftBank Corp. and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., comes amid intensifying global competition to develop advanced chips to be used in supercomputers and artificial intelligence.
The move also coincides with a worldwide chip shortage that has affected industries ranging from automaking to appliance production.
The new company, named Rapidus, will develop and manufacture chips as well as advance the cultivation of human resources in the semiconductor industry, the sources said.
